Russia Tries to Erase Evangelical Churches From Occupied Ukraine

Wall Street Journal MSN ^ | 6/16/2024 | Matthew Luxmoore

[marcusmaximus]

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine—Moments after the band struck up a song of praise at a Christian church in a Russian-held city near here, Russian soldiers stormed in wearing full tactical gear.

One of them wove through the crowd, mounted the stage and told the congregation to prepare their documents for inspection.

The service in September 2022 was the last held inside Melitopol’s Church of God’s Grace. The Russian authorities took over the building, adorned it with murals depicting their dead fighters, and converted it into a culture ministry in this part of occupied south Ukraine.

The church’s erasure from view is part of a sweeping crackdown inside Russian-held territory on religious groups that aren’t under Moscow’s control, especially the evangelical Christian faiths the Kremlin considers instruments of U.S. influence in Ukraine.

Mykhailo Brytsyn, the church’s Baptist pastor, said he was questioned by Russian soldiers for four hours and told: “You don’t run a church. You run a nest of American spies.”

Religion has long been central to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s campaign to halt Ukraine’s westward drift and bring it under his sway. His army is now using violent methods to roll back religious freedoms in occupied areas while bolstering the one faith that openly backs his invasion: the Russian Orthodox Church.

[Wuli]

“Probably CIA fronts.”

Not likely. There is too much they are not on the same side of. But, no doubt, like you apparently, that is maybe Putin’s claim and excuse, while in reality he is just returning favors to the Russian Orthodox Church. It’s not about morality, ethics or even just Christianity. It’s about you protect me and I’ll protect you - one institution to another.

[9YearLurker]

I disagree.